"Path of Our Fathers"

Claremont Review of Books: Christopher Flannery reviews Lincoln vs. Davis: War of the Presidents. An excerpt:

Swiftly: on April 12—39 days after Lincoln’s inauguration—Davis’s batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter; on April 15, Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteers for three months’ military service; on April 17, Virginia seceded from the Union; on April 20, Robert E. Lee resigned from the U.S. Army. In the following week, tens of thousands fled Washington, D.C. in every direction, emptying hotels. Most of those leaving were secessionists; many were Union officers making their way south to serve the Confederacy. For the moment, Washington had no telegraph or mail service. According to one observer, “[T]here was practically no intercourse in any form between the national capital and any part of the country.”